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Unifrance’s executive director Daniela Elstner and İlker Çatak, theOscar-nominated director ofThe Teachers’ Lounge,are among 18 industry professionals recruited to the new film funding selection committee at Germany’s Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (Mbb).

The executives have been recruited by Sarah Duve-Schmid, the new CEO of Mbb, to help decide on which film and TV projects the €41m fund should support.

The creation of a selection committee marks a departure for Mmb. Previouly all funding decisions on film and TV series projects were taken solely by the fund’s CEO without any recourse to a committee.

This so-called “Intendantenprinzip” was the unique...

Movistar Plus+ has again moved to calm fears over its future in original films and TV shows, with senior leaders saying the company remains a “magnet for creative talent” in Spain.

Movistar Plus+ CEO Daniel Domenjó last week addressed an audience of more than 400 Spanish industry leaders and pledged to keep the Spanish content giant as the “driving force” of the local creative sector.

This was at least in part a response to the ongoing concerns about Movistar Plus+’s appetite for original content following the shock exit of the much-respected content chief Domingo Corral. Domenjó, the the CEO and co-founder of Spanish producer Satisfaction Iberia, was installed as Movistar Plus+ CEO just weeks before Corral’s exit.

His the tone at the Teatro Real in Madrid was clearly one of reassurance, with the exec saying: “We want to continue being the driving force of the industry, the magnet for creative talent in this country.

Nsync’s first new song in more than 20 years, “Better Place,” dropped Friday. It’s off the soundtrack for the forthcoming “Trolls Band Together,” the third film in the franchise.

The song combines modern production with a throwback vibe. Breakout Nsync star Justin Timberlake takes a lead role throughout the song, as he often did in the band’s heyday. But each of the group’s singers get their own chance to shine throughout as they also deliver Nsync’s signature harmonies. The band did an interview with “Hot Ones” that premiered earlier this month talking about the recording of the track and what they were aiming for: “nostalgic but familiar,” according to Timberlake.

Nsync were scheduled to perform the song at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month, but those plans were iced thanks to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike earlier this month, Nsync member Lance Bass told E! News.

“Telefónica has been leading by innovation,” says Omdia’s María Rua Aguete of Movistar Plus’ parent, one of Europe’s biggest telecoms.

In June, Telefónica launched the Experience Design Lab, a Madrid-based innovation center that includes a gaming room with the latest Ar and VR technology and games. Its Lacabina, a permanent exhibition, allows visitors to experience first hand latest advances in 5G, IoT, big data, cloud, edge, AI and cyber security. It has signed payment carrier systems with Facebook, Google and Microsoft for sub-scribers in Latin America.

Its investment in less traditional format TV dramas aligns with this innovation, Rua Aguete says.

Unlike many incumbents, Movistar Plus has stuck with sports, led by the purchase of La Liga and Champions League soccer rights through 2026-27.

In July, Movistar Plus relaunched a new souped-up version of its basic tier as an Ott for clients of any telco service in Spain.

“Modestly speaking, we’ve tried to create a culture at Movistar Plus+ which attracts talent. We have a lot of respect for what creators want to tell and believe in them,” Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus+ director of fiction and entertainment, has said.

One case in point is Berto Romero, whose latest series, “The Other Side” (“El otro lado”), world premieres at Spain’s San Sebastian Festival on Sunday.

Romero broke out with star turns on Andreu Buenafuente’s “Buenafuente” and “Leit Motiv,” two late-night mainstays on Movistar Plus+ produced by El Terrat, owned by The Mediapro Studio from 2019. Over 2018-19, his first fiction series, the Terrat-produced “Look What You’ve Done,” a fresh comedic take on the tribulations of parenting, ran for three seasons on Movistar Plus+. Now “The Other Side” weighs in as a step-up in ambition for Romero.

The comedy remains. In early scenes, Nacho Nieto (Romero), once...

Filmmakers to attend Tfi Network during Tribeca Film Festival.

Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) announced on Thursday (21) the selection of 14 scripted and documentary projects for the 16th annual Tribeca All Access (Taa) programme designed to champion under-represented voices.

Taa provides financial support in the form of grants and a range of mentorship for storytellers who “create groundbreaking projects that bring marginalized voices with vital stories to tell, to a mainstream audience.”

The next step for the selected filmmakers will be the Tfi Network, the filmmaker / industry market that takes place during the Tribeca Film Festival and provides an opportunity to meet experts including distributors,...

During the weekend, goop, the modern lifestyle brand founded by Gwyneth Paltrow, brought its highly anticipated wellness summit, In goop Health, to New York City for the first time.

Located at Seaport District NYC, the sold-out east coast installment of In goop Health followed the brand’s inaugural summit in June 2017 in Los Angeles. In the last ten years, goop has emerged as the definitive voice in the wellness space. The January summit continued that trend by illuminating new philosophies, hosting thought-provoking discussions and showcasing bespoke activations that spoke to attendees’ emotional and physical health.

Summit weekend started on Friday night at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, the official hotel partner of In goop Health, where Paltrow hosted cocktails at Brooklyn Heights Social Club followed by dinner at The Osprey. Additional presenting partners of the weekend include eyelove, Tumi and Cascadian Farm.

The morning of the summit, “Wellness Weekender” ticket holders...

Ta Forum member Dahlia McAvoy gives us an insiders perspective on what its like to be the friend of a celebrity.....nbspConfessions of an Insider a perspective from the other side of fameImagine sitting with one of your best friends at dinner in an ordinary restaurant. You are gazing over the menu casually chatting when all of a sudden you hear an atmosphere piercing set of screams. Out of the corner of your eye flashes of colour start to descend onto your once quiet booth. Your table is nearly knocked over and glasses slosh their contents all over the linens. All you can hear now is a repetitious sound a bit like water falling over rocks in a constant high pitch drone. The sound makes no sense except for the occasional uncontrollable laugh or sob. You finally focus your eyes and realize its happened again. Sighing you sit back as...

Ta Forum member Dahlia McAvoy gives us an insiders perspective on what its like to be the friend of a celebrity.....nbspConfessions of an Insider a perspective from the other side of fameImagine sitting with one of your best friends at dinner in an ordinary restaurant. You are gazing over the menu casually chatting when all of a sudden you hear an atmosphere piercing set of screams. Out of the corner of your eye flashes of colour start to descend onto your once quiet booth. Your table is nearly knocked over and glasses slosh their contents all over the linens. All you can hear now is a repetitious sound a bit like water falling over rocks in a constant high pitch drone. The sound makes no sense except for the occasional uncontrollable laugh or sob. You finally focus your eyes and realize its happened again. Sighing you sit back as...